COUNTRY BETWEEN THE COLORADO RIVER 



OCEAN 



129 



ground thus irrigated is occupied "by another branch of the Ynmas tribe for cultivation ; tlie 

 chief productions being maize, beans, pumpkins, and melons. 



V 



time 



flows usually occur in the month of July. 



Tlie river ovor- 

 of October the 



SMfs:^ 



During the montli of Novemher the air hecamo 



weather was oppressively sultry ; the thermometer at 

 mid-clay frequently rising to 100^ in the shade. The 

 sty was remarkahly clear^ and tlie atmosphere extremely 

 dry. 



sensibly cooler^ especially at night ; the thermometer 

 sinking below 50^ Fahrenheit. Heavy dews and fog at 

 times^ with cloudy weather and occasional showers, ren- 

 dered the atmosphere more moist. Strong winds were 

 frequent from the north, raising immense clouds of dust 

 along the course of the river. 



The water in the river channel varied but little during 



our stay, occasionally rising several inches, in conse- 

 quence of heavy rains, and again sinking to the ordinary 

 low-water level. Along the sides of the cation, through 

 which the river passes, below the junction of the Gila, 

 there is plainly seen a line of high-water mark^ showing 

 an elevation of twelve feet or more above the usual level. 



The character of the soil adjoining the river banks, 

 derived from the sediment of river overflows and the 

 light material borne by winds from the adjoining desert 

 plateaux, causes along the bed of the stream the frequent 

 formation of shifting sand-bars. These are perpetually 

 changing with the variable river current. The process 

 of deposition and removal is thus continually going on, 

 rendering the river bed exceedingly variable and un- 

 equal in its depth and permanence. 



The view of the adjoining country from any high ele- 

 vation discloses a scene of unqualified barrenness and 

 bleak sterility. The horizon is everywhere bounded by 

 the bare outline of distant mountains, forming jagged 

 and serrated ridges, or rising into various-shaped domes 



chimney 



Intermediate, stretches the broad 



and desolate table-land, with its dead-brown aspect; 

 while the more attractive river bottoms are seen clothed 

 with a straggling growth of mezquite, or reflecting from 

 turbid waters the overhanging willow and the lofty 



cotton- wood. 



On the 1st of December, having completed our obser- 

 vations, we struck camp for our return to San Diego. 

 The frequent rains of the previous month caused an 

 abundance of water at convenient points along our road. 

 In the bottoms of Xew river our teams were compelled to 

 drag over muddy tracks. The opportune supply of de- 



Vol. I 



IT 



